Related articles

"We are now married, which is nice," he said, proudly showing the audience his wedding ring. "I know that was just made legal in the UK which is great, but we were married in the States," he added, after explaining that he has been in a relationship with Buckley for 27 years.

The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Alexander 'Jack' John Buckley Ford, in 2012. They live in London, where Ford's eponymous label is based.

The Texas-born designer also spoke of his brief dalliance with the world of acting after dropping out of New York University, but admitted that he wasn't a natural, despite securing a few adverts. He then went back to study, enrolling at Parsons The New School for Design, where he studied architecture.

Surprisingly, the 52-year-old admitted that Jay-Z's recent rap ode to him was dynamite for his brand. "If you're in the business of a brand it's one of the best things that could happen to you," he said, adding that hearing 60,000 people scream his name at a Jay-Z concert "freaks me out."

"I want to crawl under a rock because I'm actually very, very, very shy and no one ever believes this! I really am very shy," he said.

He also touched in the intern debate - he interned at Chloé in Paris while at university - saying that he believes it's the best way to learn.

"I think this is the problem today, people come out of school and think they should immediately be a star. In this world of course you can make a sex video and you can become a star. But I think everyone should be an intern - you should sweep floors, you should pick up pins. You should run errands because you learn so much."

He left the audience with some simple style advice: "Never ever wear anything you are remotely uncomfortable in. Because that is what you'll project: 'I look like a fool.'"

"I don't mean physical comfort, I don't mind suffering a little bit," he clarified, before adding that his own trousers were feeling a little too tight as he's been indulging in his favourite treat:
Percy Pigs.